Garlic Chicken Burgers with Homemade Brioche Buns and a Lemon Herb Yogurt

Who doesn’t love a good burger night? The windows were open, they kids were running in and out of the house, beautiful signs of warmer weather to come. These burgers have lots of garlic and spices seared, in the skillet and topped with a mixture or mozzarella and feta melted over the top. Placed on a homemade brioche bun with a creamy lemon herb yogurt sauce. Of course you don’t have to make you’re own buns, but they are pretty simple and just make the burgers a little extra special.

Brioche Buns

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
• 1/4 cup + 1 tsp. honey
• 3/4 cup whole milk, warmed
• 3 eggs, beaten and divided
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. kosher salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, (cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
• white sesame seeds

Chicken Burgers

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• salt and black pepper
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2/3 cup crumbled feta
• top burgers with spinach or tomatoes

Lemon Herb Yogurt

• 1/3 cup plain Greek full fat yogurt
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp. fresh herbs (chives, basil, cilantro, oregano)

Directions

Starting with the brioche buns, in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add the warm water, 1 tsp. honey, and yeast. Let that sit for about 5 minutes until foamy.

Then add in the remaining 1/4 cup honey, warmed milk, 2 eggs, flour and salt. Start mixing on low until the shaggy dough start to form and come together. Then on low to medium speed add the butter one piece at a time. It will start to be really sticky. Keep beating unit it’s all added. Then mix the dough for about 8 minutes until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Cover it and let it rest for about 1-2 hours.

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and dump it out onto a floured work surface. Dived the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each one into a small ball. Place onto a parchment lined baking pan, continuing with the rest. Cover the dough balls again with a light kitchen towel and let them rise again for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Once they are ready to bake, brush the tops with the remaining egg. Then sprinkle the tops with the white sesame seeds if you wish.

Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Once baked place on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing open.

For the burgers, in a medium bowl combine together the ground chicken with the garlic and spices. Divide the meat into 4 and form them in the patties. Place on a plate or baking pan. Once you are ready to cook them off use a skillet or a grill and cook off the burgers. Sear for about 5-7 minutes on each side.

If you want cheese on top, mix together the mozzarella and feta together and sprinkle a little bit on each one, and cover the burgers while they continue to cook and the cheese melts.

For the lemon yogurt sauce, in a small bowl combine together the yogurt, lemon juice, zest and herbs and whisk until smooth.

Time to assemble the burgers! Slice the buns, toast if you wish, then spread on a little of the yogurt sauce, a couple baby spinach leaves, place on the burger and top with the top bun. Enjoy!